Self ejecting wad cutter and cup former



1961 J. E. REINER 2,995,058

SELF EJECTING WAD CUTTER AND CUP FORMER Filed Aug. 9, 1957 ATTU RNEYSPatented Aug. 8, 1961 2,995,058 SELF EJECTING WAD CUTTER AND CUP FORMERJames E. Reiner, 1980 N. Ventura Ave., Ventura, Calif. Filed Aug. 9,1957, Ser. No. 677,361 1 Claim. (CI. 86-23) This invention relates toreloading shells of firearms and in particular a master plunger having aspring actuated ejector therein with a forming die and anvil and inwhich the master plunger is designed to be threaded in a conventionalreloading press.

The purpose of this invention is to provide a punch and forming die withwhich cupped waxed wads are produced.

Various types of wad cutting devices have been provided for useparticularly in reloading shells, however, it has been found desirableto include cup forming dies in a wad forming plunger whereby thefinished wads are cup-shaped and waxed to facilitate reloading. Withthese ends in view this invention contemplates a combination plunger andforming die which first cuts wads to size and then shapes the wads toform cups.

The object of this invention is, therefore, to provide a combinationmaster plunger and cup forming die for wads used in reloading shells inwhich the plunger may be used in conventional reloading presses.

Another object of the invention is to provide a master plunger andcup-shaped forming die in which wads are produced for use over thepowder of shotgun shells wherein the wads are readily waxed to preventleading of the gun barrel.

A further object of the invention is to provide a combination wadforming plunger and cup-shaped die for making wads for reloading shotgunshells in which the device is of a simple and economical construction.

With these and other objects and advantages in view the inventionembodies a master plunger threaded to correspond with the threads of aconventional reloading press, a spring actuated ejector in the lower endof the plunger, a punch on the lower end of the master plunger, acup-shaped forming die positioned to receive the plunger, an anvil onthe forming die, an adjusting screw in the upper end of the plunger andan anchor screw in the lower end of the forming die.

Other features and advantages of the invention will appear from thefollowing description taken in connection with the drawing, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a vertical section through the improved wad cutter and cupformer showing the parts in assembled relation and with parts brokenaway.

'FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view of the unit shown in FIG. 1 alsowith parts broken away and showing, in particular, a cup-shaped washerforced into the forming die with the lower end of the plunger.

FIGURE 3 is a view illustrating a wad formed by the machine.

FIGURE 4 is a view showing the wad after being formed into a cup.

FIGURE 5 is a view looking toward the lower end of the anvil designed tobe positioned on the forming die to form the blank wad.

Referring now to the drawing wherein like reference characters denotecorresponding parts the improved wad former and cup cutter of thisinvention includes a master plunger having threads on the upper surfaceto correspend with threads of a conventional reloading press, anejecting pin 12 mounted in the lower end of the plunger, a punch 13, aforming die 14- positioned in alignment with the plunger, an anvil 15positioned on the forming die, an anchor screw 16 threaded in the lowerend of the forming die, a set screw 17 threaded in the punch andpositioned to retain the punch in position upon the plunger, and anadjusting screw 18 threaded in the upper end of the plunger andpositioned to adjust the tension on a spring 19 positioned between theadjusting screw 18 and a head 20 of the ejecting pin 12.

The upper end of the plunger 10 is provided with threads 21 whichreceive the adjusting screw 18 and the lower end is provided with anopening 22 in which the ejecting pin 12 is slidably mounted. In use theejecting pin slides upwardly against the pressure of the spring 19 untilthe lower end of the pin is flush with the lower end of the plungerwhereby the pin coacts with the end of the plunger for forming a wad 23wherein with the anvil 15 removed the wad is pressed downwardly into arecess 24 forming the body of a cup.

The wad 23 is formed by cutting through a sheet of material with thesharp angular cutting edge 25 of the punch 13 and after the wad isremoved from the sheet of material the anvil 15 is removed and the wadplaced in the annular recess 26 of the forming die 14 whereby the wad isin alignment with the plunger 10 so that as the plunger moves into theforming die the wad is shaped to form the cup shown in FIG. 4 with anannular flange 27 extended from a base 28.

In use the master plunger 16) is threaded in an arm 29 in theconventional reloading press and with the plunger in position a lock nut30 is turned downwardly against the upper surface of the arm 29 wherebythe plunger is retained in position as wads are cut and formed in thecutting and forming elements.

The adjusting screw 18 is provided with a socket 31 that is formed toreceive a wrench and the lower end of the adjusting screw is formed toreceive the upper end of the spring 19, the lower end of which ispositioned upon the head or upper end 20 of the ejector 12.

The forming die 14 is provided with a threaded bore 31 in which theanchor screw 16 is threaded-and, as shown in FIG. 1 the screw 16 extendsinto a mounting base 32 to which the parts are secured. The anchor screw16 is provided with a socket 33 which facilitates rotating the screwparticularly with the master plunger removed.

With the parts designed and assembled as illustrated and described theanvil 15 is first positioned upon the upper end of the forming die 14with a boss 35 on the under side of the anvil 15 positioned in theannular recess 24 in the upper end of the forming die and with a sheetof material, for forming wads, placed upon the anvil 15, the masterplunger is moved downwardly for stamping a disc, such as the disc 23shown in FIG. 3, from the sheet of material.

With the anvil and punch removed from the tool the disc is placed in theannular recess 26 of the forming die whereby it is shaped to form a cupas the plunger 10 moves downwardly, as described. FIGURE 1 shows thepunch 13 connected to the plunger 10 by means of the set screw 17, andFIGURE 2 shows the punch 13 removed or disconnected from the plunger 10.It is to be noted that the set screw 17 can be loosened whereby thepunch 13 can either be taken all the way off as for example as shown inFIGURE 2, or else with the set screw 17 loosened the punch 13 can beslid or moved up on the plunger 19, and the set screw 17 can then betightened in order to maintain or hold the punch 13 stationary in anelevated position on the plunger 16.

The set screw 17, threaded in the punch, is also provided with a socket34 by which the screw is rotated with a Philips head wrench, or thelike.

The punch 13 may be replaced with punches of different sizes so thatsubstantially any size wad that may be desired may be formed with thetool.

It will be understood that modifications, Within the scope of theappended claim, may be made in the design and arrangement of the partswithout departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

A wad forming tool comprising a plunger having a threaded outer surfacefor use in a reloading press, an anvil positioned in alignment with theplunger, a disc forming die secured, by a set screw, in position on theouter surface of the plunger and positioned to stamp a disc from a sheetof material positioned on the anvil, an ejector positioned in theplunger, and a forming die also positioned in alignment with the plungerand upon which the anvil is positioned, the anvil being removable fromthe forming die, the disc being positioned on the forming die with theanvil removed whereby the plunger coacts with the forming die forpressing the disc into a cup.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS190,683 Jenkins May 15, 1877 374,482 Lee Dec. 6, 1887 506,374 RichardsOct. 10, 1893 945,874 Thompson Jan. 11, 1910 2,031,850 Peterson Feb. 25,1936 2,379,450 Musser July 3, 1945 2,501,682 Kuchman Mar. 28, 19502,545,237 Maby Mar. 13, 1951 2,917,960 Gargrave Dec. 22, 1959

